ATom Campaign Volatile Organic Compound Measurements from TOGA Instrument

Four ATom (Atmospheric Tomography) campaigns collected high-frequency measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using the Trace Organic Gas Analyzer (TOGA). The dataset includes radical precursors, tracers of anthropogenic and biogenic activities, and compounds relevant to aerosol formation and atmospheric processing. Data were produced by ORNL_CLOUD, with the most recent metadata update noted as March 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the impact of urban and biomass combustion emissions on atmospheric chemistry using tracer compounds.
• Studying oxidative processing and aerosol formation pathways through measured VOC products and precursors.
• Investigating the global distribution and sources of radical precursors to understand atmospheric reactivity.
• Correlating biogenic and anthropogenic activity tracers with other atmospheric measurements from the ATom missions.

Strengths

• High measurement sensitivity at parts-per-trillion (ppt) or lower levels.
• High temporal resolution with data collected at 2-minute intervals.
• Measurement accuracy often reported as 15% or better, with precision under 3%.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting metadata exists: one source lists a last update date of May 2018, while others list March 2026.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD

Collection Method

Measured in situ by the Trace Organic Gas Analyzer (TOGA) instrument during airborne ATom campaigns.

Time Range

Coverage spans the four separate ATom campaigns (specific dates not provided).

Freshness

2026-03-13 12:42:11.789200

Geography

Global atmospheric coverage from the ATom airborne missions (specific regions not detailed).